NY Giants Drop in MMQB’s Latest NFL Power Rankings Poll

Despite the Giants being inactive this past weekend, they weren’t spared from another drop closer to the bottom of the league’s power rankings poll.

Dec 1, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) walks onto the field prior to the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

With the New York Giants being on their long-awaited bye week last week, it might have been a nice respite not to see them lose on the actual gridiron. That, however, didn’t stop them from losing even more ground in the NFL race for relevance while they watched last week’s action from their couches.

Before leaving the facilities in East Rutherford on a brief hiatus amid a frustrating seven-game losing streak that is tied for the longest in the league, the Giants were already at their lowest point among the other 31 teams following their humiliating 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 13 that put all their weaknesses on a national display.

As they return from the bye to prepare to host the Washington Commanders this Sunday, the Giants find themselves having dropped one spot in MMQB’s weekly NFL power rankings poll, to No. 31, just ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders, who share their 2-11 record.

New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (51) gets ready for a play during a week 9 game between New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“The player who has been five minutes late to a pair of meetings (Abdul Carter) is getting advice in the media from the player who once showed up to a meeting locked in handcuffs because, and I quote, “he was with a couple of women the night before and they didn’t have the key,” rankings compiler Connor Orr said, adding, “Only in New York, baby”. 

Orr’s sharp comments were alluding to a recent interview by Giants legend and Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor in the New York Post, where he left a pointed message for Carter in the aftermath of his second disciplinary issue that cost him missing the first two defensive series in the team’s last game against the Patriots. 

Lawrence told Carter to “wake up” as the young edge rusher has finally made it to the professional level after an accomplished campaign in his final season at Penn State, but has seemingly been squandering it with a couple of off-field instances and lackluster production.

Since joining the Giants, Carter has been one of the biggest disappointments within the franchise’s locker room. He was expected to come alive for their pass rush, which has numerous talented pieces on the defensive front, but he has only notched 1.5 sacks in 13 games.

In terms of the Giants being as close to the basement of the league order in Orr's latest rankings, that is neither here nor there as the lone factor. 

Despite not playing a football game this past weekend, the aforementioned teams that were once considered worse than them either won their contests this weekend to match or surpass their current record.

The Titans, who held the top pick in the draft for most of the season, escaped with a win over the Browns, which put them at 2-11 and passed on the No. 1 slot to the Giants in the order due to the strength of schedule tiebreaker that favors New York with four games left to go in the regular season.

Even though the prospect of having the first overall selection–should they keep it the rest of the way–could open up a couple different scenarios that will be beneficial for the organization’s future, it’s not a status that many around the league expected for the Giants, who thought they created an improved roster centered around a budding young arm in Jaxson Dart. 

Instead of being a team that is keeping an outside gaze on the postseason picture down the final stretch, the Giants were the first to be eliminated from contention after coughing up a handful of games in recent weeks where their offense had given them a fourth quarter lead despite facing some quality foes and not having Dart for a couple of them as he battled through a concussion. 

Those failures mixed with other talent deficiencies have also brought about a handful of shakeups in the Giants' coaching staff and created a sense of doubt as to whether the current front regime represented by general manager Joe Schoen will remain intact to repair the glaring holes that will be littered all across the roster by the end of the 2025 campaign.

Still, it’s hard to fathom that the Giants will hold firm to their draft position or where Orr has them slated in his order because their final four matchups feature three opponents who don’t have records above .500 and who are considered beatable.

Dec 7, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) rushes the ball past Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Andrew van Ginkel (43) during the first half at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Commanders visit the Giants this weekend. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The first one is with the Commanders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, who are severely banged up on both sides of the ball and could waive the white flag on the rest of their schedule, with their organization also eliminated from any playoff possibilities.

The Giants have also fared well against their NFC East rivals and won’t want to be swept for the second straight season. 

If the Giants can steal a couple more wins before the curtain drops on the season, it could improve their final standing in the league, as their attention turns to next year and retooling to be more successful behind Dart, the franchise heir at quarterback. 

Until proven otherwise, even sitting at home wasn’t enough of an excuse to not slip them closer to the bottom of the power structure that defines the NFL. 

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